Safeguard for watches.



No. 728,816- PATENTED MAY 19, 1903.

' H. M. WILLIS.

' SAFEGUARD FOR WATCHES.

I APPLICATION FILED APR. 17. 1902.

10 MODE UNITED STATES Patented May-19, 1903-.

PATENT OFFICE.

SAFEGUARD FOR WATCHES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 728,816, dated. May 19, 1903.

Application filed-April 17,1902. Serial No. 103,421. (No model.) v

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that LHENRY M.W1LLIs,acit.izen of the United States, and a resident of East Williston, in the county of Nassau and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in' Safeguards for" Watches, 850.; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,making a part of this specification, in which Figure 1 is a face view of a safeguard device made according to my invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view thereof, taken in the line a: so of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an end view of the same.

This invention is designed more especially for the protection of watches from theft when carried in the usual mannerin the vest-pocket of the wearer, but may also be applied to other suitable uses.

It comprises certain new and useful combinations of parts, hereinafter described,whereby a strong and effective device for the aforesaid purpose is provided and one which is capable of manufacture by comparatively unskilled labor and at a very moderate expense.

A is a plate,preferably of sheet metal,struck up or otherwise brought to shape. This plate has a longitudinal opening a, over which extends a yoke b. This yoke, the shape of which is more fully shown in Fig. 3, should be integral with the plate and may be formed of the metal taken from the opening a in forming said opening in the plate. The lateral longitudinal portions 0 of the plate are preferably more or less fiat, as shown in Fig. 3, while the two end portions d are centrally arched, as shown in said figure and also indicated in Figs. 1 and 2. Within the concave inner side of one of these ends is pivoted, as at e, a pin f, while in the corresponding cavity at the opposite end is a hook g, the pin and hook being so arranged that the device as a whole may be attached to clothing as by the usual operation of a shawl-pin. When the device is to be permanently attached to the clothing, this pin fand hook g may be dispensed with and the plate sewed to the garment through a series of holes h in the plate, as shown in Fig. 1.

Provided to the plate lengthwise over the opening a therein is a leaf-spring i, which is preferably flat and which is secured at one or both ends to the plate at the extremities of the opening a. Asshown in the drawings, this spring has its ends thrust through the cavities in the ends of the plate and thence turned upward and over to clamp over the contiguous part of the plate, as shown at a b in Fig. 2, thereby sustaining the spring at both ends. This spring should be more or less curved at some portion of its length, as shown more fully in Fig. 2, to promote its resiliency. The free end of the shank c of the yoke b rests upon the outer surface of this spring and should have an inclined or acutely-angled position with reference thereto, as shown in Fig. 2. To provide a practically flush surface to the end portions of plate, notwithstanding the pressure of the folded-over ends of the spring, the plate is formed with longitudinal grooves e, which receive the folded-over ends a b of the spring, so that the outer surfaces are flush with the surfaces at either side. When desired, the spring may be fixed at only one of its ends to the plate, the opposite end of the spring being free to slide on the end of the plate. This last-mentioned arrangement adds some flexibility and elasticity to the action, hereinafter explained, of the spring.

In Fig. 1 there is indicated at B the inside of the vest-pocket. To this the parts carried thereby are attached, as hereinbefore explained. To secure the watch in place, the neck between its suspension-ring and the adjacent case of the watch is pressed against the spring and at the same time moved along the latter toward the shank of the yoke until, by reason of the yielding of the spring, said neck passes into the space between the yoke and the spring, as indicated in dotted outline in Fig. 1, and. as said space is much smaller than the watch it cannot be withdrawn therefrom except by a retrograde movement along the spring, which requires that the spring bedesignedly depressed or brought away from the end of the shank of the yoke. When the watch is thus secured by the device, the spring lies normally pressed against the end of the shank of the yoke, and thereby prevents a reverse movement of the neck of the watch. The said plate and the ICO shank being inclined with reference to the spring, as shown in Fig. 2, the neck of the watch in any reverse pressure slides out to the acute angle 0 thereof and is thereby prevented from exerting any considerable force, which otherwise might bend back the shank. It will be observed that when secured as described the watch is incapable of being withdrawn until the spring is pressed away from the shank and that the parts are so arranged that this cannot be done without pressing against the body of the wearer. This, if done by a pickpocket or in any illicit attempt to remove the watch, would necessarily attract the attention of even a very negligent or absent-minded wearer, and thus lead to the detection'of the attempted theft before it could be consummated. At the same time the device is in such position that the wearer can readily reach and apply his fingento the spring to press it away from the yoke to afford space between the end of the yoke and the face of the spring, through which the neck of the watch may be passed laterally to detach the watch when desired.

What I claim as my invention is 1. The combination with a plate having a longitudinal opening and a yoke extended over said opening, of a leaflspring attached at its two ends to the plate and extended lengthwise over said opening and elastically pressed against the end of the yoke, and

' means for attaching the plate and the parts carried thereby in position for use, as described.

2. The combination with a plate arched at its ends and having a longitudinal opening, with a yoke which is integral with the plate and extended longitudinally over the opening, of a leaf-spring which extends along the opening with a resilient pressure against the shank of the yoke and which is attached to an end of the plate by being folded over and clamped thereon, as described.

3. The combination with a plate having a longitudinal opening and a yoke which is ex tended over said opening and has an inwardly-turned shank, of a leaf-spring attached to the plate, extended along the openin g, and resilientlypressed against the shank of the yoke with said shank at an acute angle to the length of the spring, and means for attaching the plate and parts carried thereby in position for use, as described.

4. The combination with a plate having arched ends, a longitudinal opening, and a yoke formed integral therewith and extended over said opening, of a leaf-spring extended the length of said opening, with a resilient pressure against the end of the yoke and attached at its two ends to the arched'ends of the plate, and means for attaching the plate and parts carried thereby in position for use, as described.

5. The combination with a plate having arched ends, a longitudinal opening and a yoke formed integral therewith and extended over said opening, of a leaf-spring extended the length of said opening with a resilient pressure against the end of the yoke and at one of its ends attached to an arched end of the plate, a pin pivoted within one of the arched ends of the plate and a hook within the opposite arched end of said plate, as described. 

